Hartwig Fisherman, manager british museumannounced this Friday that submitted his resignation with immediate effect It turned out that parts of the institution were stolen in the last weeks.
The 61-year-old German historian admitted in a statement: museum “did not respond as fully as it should have” To the warnings that began to appear in 2021 loss of goods in warehouses From its headquarters in London.
At the British Museum this month. some of the world’s most important archaeological collectionsfired an employee after realizing his loss Gold jewellery, semi-precious stones and glass objects dating from the 15th to the 19th centuries BC.
British media pointed to the archaeologist Peter HiggsThe 56-year-old, who worked at the institution as an Ancient Greek expert for 30 years, is allegedly guilty of the disappearance of the objects, despite his family’s defense of his innocence.
Pieces that are not in the public eye, collections are open to academics and researchers onlySome of these works, which disappeared from the warehouses of the museum for many years, were put up for sale on the internet pages as early as 2016, according to media reports.
Fisher, who joined the British Museum in 2015 after working at the Dresden State Art Collections, said the responsibility “for the problem that is now completely posed” is “ultimately the director’s”. offered his resignation to the institution’s board of directors.
“I will resign as soon as the board creates an interim management team that will serve until a new director is elected,” he said.
“The situation the museum is in is extremely serious. I sincerely believe that it will come out stronger from now on, but unfortunately,” I’ve come to the conclusion that my presence is a distraction“, added.